Vegas, Baby! BSC 10 year reunion Prequel 2
by MissHWrites
Summary: Stacey has a fun summer to look forward to. Her mom is moving to Nevada so Stacey and Claudia are helping her move AND spending a few weeks with her too! Unfortunately Stacey learns what happens in Vegas..doesn't always stay there.
1. Chapter 1

"No, I don't mind at all, Mom. It will be fun. Plus, I am going to have so much fun helping you shop for all your new stuff!" I said.

She replied, "Ok honey. So my flight is coming at 9am on Monday."

"Yes, I remember. Claudia and I will be there to get you."

After a few more details, we ended our conversation. I was so excited to spend a few weeks with my mom and my best friend, Claudia. My relationship with my mom has really blossomed over the years and she's no longer the overbearing and overprotective mom that I came to resent. Now she respects me as a woman and an adult and since we've been in such a good place for the last few years, I have been very eager to spend more time with her but that's not an easy thing to do since she lives thousand of miles away in Stoneybrook, Connecticut.

The good news is that my mom is moving to a town called Henderson, Nevada, which is about a 20 minute drive from the Las Vegas strip. I live in Los Angeles so now she'll be either an hour plane ride away or a 5 hour drive away. Either way is much better than our current situation. Most people would think it's strange that I would be excited to help my mom move but since she's moving across the country, she sold almost all of the furniture in her house and her car too. THAT means that I have to help her find a new car and new furniture and decorate her new house.

Now, I've only seen pictures of the new place but it's really nice. It's SOO different from her place in Stoneybrook. That was a much older home, with bricks, dark wood and very much East Coast style of architecture. This new place was only built a few years ago and it's a pretty spacious 2 bedroom white stucco home, with a red tile roof and since it's so hot there, she can't even have grass in the front so there's rocks in place of a lawn and desert succulent plants instead of trees. The inside is all white and there's no carpet, except in the bedrooms and most of the house has white tile floors. I'm assuming to keep the place cooler. It's in a cute retirement neighborhood so she'll be with people her own age and I'm sure she'll make a lot of new friends. There is even a community center for all the residents of the neighborhood where they can take craft classes, exercise classes, and there's this huge pool there too. I'm a bit jealous, frankly but my mom has earned it. She worked her butt off at Bellaire's Department Store for over 10 years but unfortunately, she got laid off recently. She's only 60 so she isn't able to "officially" retire just yet but living in Nevada is way cheaper, and she'll be able to get by with a part-time job and the extra money from the sale of her old house in Stoneybrook should keep her afloat until she turns 65 and then she can collect her social security. She seems really excited about it and I really am happy for her.

Whoa, I'm probably not making much sense at all and getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I? Let me go back aways..


	2. Chapter 2

My name is Stacey McGill. I'm 23 years old and I live in Los Angeles, California.

I just finished my 5th year of college. One more year and I'll have my Master's degree from UCLA and my long term goal is to become a college professor of mathematics. For the past 5 years, I've either been in a dorm or an apartment close to campus but I'm finally getting my own place in July and I'm rooming with my best friend, Claudia Kishi. We can't afford to live in Westwood, where UCLA is so we found a place in Sherman Oaks. It's about a 20 minute drive to my school but luckily, there's a bus stop at the Sepulveda/Ventura Blvd intersection, which I can walk to from our new place and one of the buses goes directly to the school and that should save me a lot of gas money.

Claudia already graduated from an art school called CalArts few years ago. She's a painter. Well, THAT's the job she is passionate about but selling paintings doesn't always pay the bills so she has a day job working at a clothing store at the mall. I'm going to have to get a part-time job this year as well to make ends meet and I'm not really looking forward to it. We have both acquired a lot of stuff over our years in California and between us, our new place will have pretty much everything we need. My dad was also nice enough to buy a new couch for us and Claudia's parents bought us a kitchen table, so we're set! All of our things are in storage for now but we are moving in as soon as we leave Nevada.

Claudia and I were planning to meet up for breakfast and then we were going to drive to Nevada separately, since we figured we would both need our cars while we were up there.

All my suitcases were packed and in my car trunk and we were planning on leaving around 8 in the morning the next day. My soon to be FORMER apartment was completely empty, except for a pillow and a pile of blankets on the floor, which was my makeshift bed. Hopefully I'll be able to get a decent night's sleep.

The next morning, my best friend was right on time and outside my apartment waiting for me. The first thing out of her mouth was, "Whoa. Slumming it a bit, aren't we?" as she looked at what I was wearing. I looked down at my outfit, which I actually put some thought into. My shoulder-lenghth blonde hair was in a high ponytail and I was sporting a plain white t-shirt and light blue jean shorts, complemented by white converse sneakers. Aside from a simple necklace, I wasn't wearing any other jewelry. I LOVE clothes and I always make an effort to wear nice things and look my best but I was going to be sitting in my car for the next 5 hours, driving in the heat and I wanted to be cool and comfortable. I looked at Claudia's outfit: Black capri leggins, with an oversize dark blue flowy t-shirt that fell a bit above her thighs. She was wearing sandals and a ton of beaded jewelry and her shoulder length jet-black hair was down and straight. I noticed her left foot was wrapped in an ace bandage, which helped her with the pain she constantly has in her foot. I hate seeing her foot wrapped up but with good reason. I guess I'll get into that later, though. I said to her, "well, YOU sure look nice but you're going to regret those dark colors and tight pants, missy. You do realize were driving to the Mojave desert in the summer, don't you?"

She smiled and said, "that's no excuse to sacrifice my style."

"Suit yourself," I said.

After breakfast, we were on our way. We had a long drive ahead of us and I hoped the traffic wouldn't be too bad and the drive would go nice and smooth.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh..my..GOD! I feel disgusting!" said Claudia.

"Me too," I replied, I raising my arms to show some pretty large wet stains.

Claudia laughed and said, "Holy sh-" before I cut her profanity off."

I put my hands on my hips and asked, "have you looked under YOUR arms?"

She giggled and said "Um, I'd rather not. Seriously, though. Have you EVER been in heat like this?"

It was about 108, according to the thermometer stuck on the kitchen window of Mom's new house. California summers were definitely hot, but NOTHING compared to this dry heat. I knew it would take my mom a lot of getting used to and I hope she could handle it.

"No way. We gotta take a break," I replied. My mom already ordered a few new things and had them delivered, including a new kitchen table and a refrigerator so Claudia at least had somewhere to sit while we both drank water, trying to rehydrate. We had spent about 3 hours unpacking the boxes of stuff my mom had sent to her new house from Connecticut, including her clothes, pictures, kitchen stuff, etc. I'm just glad nothing got damaged or broken along the way. We finished setting up the kitchen and I really hoped she liked how we arranged it. We also hung up all of her clothes in her new walk-in closet and put away a bunch of stuff in her bathroom too. There were still a few things left to do but since my mom wasn't flying in for a few more days, I asked Claudia, "do you want to call it a day? I'm exhausted."

"Yeah," she replied. "I think we can get everything else done by tomorrow."

Still feeling gross, despite being in the air conditioning, I decided I should take a shower.

"I'm going to go clean up," I told her. Then maybe we can find a place to have lunch?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll go take a shower in the second bathroom," said Claudia.

After cleaning ourselves up, we headed out and after driving around for a bit, we found a sandwich shop in a nearby strip mall that suited our needs just fine. As we ate, Claudia said, "I don't know about you but I can use a nap."

Realizing I could use one as well, I said, "Me too. I think that will be the extent of my plans for the rest of the day."

Claudia responded with, "Oh, come on! You'll be up for something once you're rested."

"Something?" I asked. "Like what?"

Claudia raised an eyebrow and said, "Umm..we're in Vegas, Stace. We should go party!"

Party? That word hadn't been in my vocabulary in a long time. I thought my last few years of college would be fun and a breeze but they proved to be non-stop work and studying.

I thought for a minute and realized she was right. I had no job, no class to go to, no studying to do..why not live it up tonight? So I sighed and said, "Oh hell, why not?"

She smiled and just said, "Alright, then."

About 5 hours later, I walked out of the bathroom to Claudia saying, "You look GOOD, girl!"

So did she. She styled her stick-straight hair into loose waves and her beautiful Asian eyes were complemented by dark smoky eye makeup. I looked at her in her tight black dress and boots and said, "YOU look even better." I eyeballed her boots for a second and asked, "but is your foot going to be ok in those?"

"I'll live," she said with a smile.

That comment obviously meant a lot more to her than most people. See, Claudia is actually a cancer survivor. She got bone cancer in her foot while she was in college but by some miracle, she managed to kick it's ass. She definitely came out of it with a few battle scars, physically and emotionally but she's doing great these days. Actually, so am I as her battle sure took a toll on me emotionally as well.

"Are you drinking tonight?" she asked.

I rarely drank and neither did Claudia but I thought it would be fun to let loose tonight so I said, "Yeah, I think I'll have one or two."

"Ok. I won't then. I'm going to drive."

Before long, we were off to the strip!


	4. Chapter 4

I sipped on a gin and tonic as Claudia and I went from casino to casino, checking everything out. I knew I would probably do great at the blackjack table but money isn't something I could afford to spare so I decided I'd only sacrifice a $20 on slots and although the alcohol started hitting me more than I thought it would and I was feeling a little woozy, I figured one more drink probably wouldn't hurt me so the rest of my cash would go to just one more drink. We wandered around for a while with the sounds of the slot machines, music and bright glittering and flashing lights all around us and I really was having a great time, even though we weren't doing much. We eventually stopped at the next bar we saw and I ordered one more gin while Claudia got a tonic water with lime. I was about to pull out my cash when I heard a male voice say behind me, "I got her!"

I turned around to see who the voice came from. It was hard to make out his face, with the dim lights and my tipsy state but I suppose he wasn't bad looking and it looked like he had dark hair.

I thanked him and we started talking a bit but I gotta admit, things were getting a bit fuzzy.

I remember him saying he was from California but I can't remember what city. At one point, I remember telling Claudia goodbye and then flashing lights and pounding music as this man led me into a dance club. I love dancing and I had a ball shaking my butt back and forth to the music. He wasn't a bad dancer either. I couldn't even tell you how long we were in there but definitely long enough to come out nice and sweaty.

The last thing I remember doing was walking down a carpeted hallway and grabbing a bottle of water from a vending machine and then leaning against a wall and feeling his lips on mine. Then everything faded to black..


	5. Chapter 5

Oh lordy. My head is killing me. My stomach hurts too. I felt like puking too but hoped I wouldn't. I was also in bed, but not MY bed. Then I remembered I was in Las Vegas and was sleeping at my mom's new house. I wearily rolled over and then I hit something hard and gasped. It was a body. A MAN'S body..without any clothes on. Then I realized I didn't have any clothes on either. Once my vision cleared up, I realized I wasn't at my mom's house either but in a hotel room with dark furniture. Then it all came back to me. I spend the night partying on the Vegas Strip with a guy. Oh gosh..I can't even remember his name! I hurried my naked self into the bathroom and grabbed a towel so I could cover up and then I looked in the mirror at my face, mascara running down my face, smeared eyeliner. I shook my head and angrily whispered to myself, "God Stacey, how can you be so STUPID?!"

I felt so gross and desperately wanted to shower but I also knew I needed to get out of there fast so I crept back out, grabbed my purse and my clothes and put them back on in the bathroom and then I grabbed the bar of soap sitting on the counter and quickly washed my face. I looked at the logo on the soap and it said "Flamingo." Great. Now I at least knew where I was. Then I pulled out my cell and called Claudia.

"Oh my God, I was worried sick about you!" she exclaimed. "Where are you?"

I whispered back, "I'm at the Flamingo. I'm ok."

"WHAT happened?" she demanded.

"Um, nothing that I know of," I answered. "I'm in that guy's hotel room but he's still asleep so I'm going to sneak out of here. Can you meet me here?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll come get you right now. It's going to take a while with parking and stuff, though," she said.

"That's fine," I said. "I just want to get the hell out of here so I'll go get coffee and meet you at the check-in desk here."

"I'm leaving now, Stace."

"HURRY," I pleaded.

Now I just had to slip out of the bathroom as quietly as I could so I slowly twisted the handle and opened the door. I started to walk to the door when I heard, "Oh, hey. You ARE still here."

Shoot. I woke him up.

He had all of his clothes back on too and he was sitting on the bed. He wasn't nearly as good looking as he looked last night.

"Um..yeah," I said. "I'm probably gonna..you know, head out. Go back home."

"Oh. Ok," he said.

Not knowing what else to say to him I said. "So, it was very nice meeting you last night. Thanks for the drink."

He shook his head and said, "Listen, I don't normally do things like this. I just had too many drinks. I'm sorry."

He paused for a second before adding," you're, um..you're very pretty, by the way."

Ignoring the unessecary compliment, I just sighed because I felt the same embarrassment and felt pretty ashamed of myself and said, "Yeah. I'm sorry too."

After an awkward few seconds of silence, he said, "So am I going to see you?"

Confused, I asked, "see me?"

"Yeah. Can I take you out tonight? Like, for dinner? Something?" He shook his head and then said, "I feel so bad."

Maybe this guy was just like me? He did seem nice. He was apologetic and articulate and perhaps he just made the exact same bad decision I did. Still, dinner with a guy I probably slept with last night? I don't know. I didn't know what to say either.

He said, "Just think about it. I'm here for a bachelor weekend with my friends and going home on Monday. Can I at least give you my number?"

"Sure," I said.

He scribbled it down on some paper sitting on a nightstand and I quickly put it in my purse.

"Soo, it's..Stacey, right?"

So he was able to remember my name and I couldn't remember his? Now I felt even worse..

"I said, "Yeah. That's right."

He smiled and said, "Well, nice to meet you, Stacey," and awkwardly held out his hand.

I awkwardly shook it back and said "you too, um.."

He continued smiling and said, "It's Ben. My name is Ben."


	6. Chapter 6

On the drive back to my mom's place, Claudia and I chatted while I tried to put the pieces of last night back together.

"I shouldn't have left you there," said Claudia as she shook her head.

"It's ok," I replied. "From what I remember, didn't I ask you to leave?"

"My foot was hurting me in the boots and I said I wanted to go home but you said you wanted to stay and hang out with that guy," she answered.

"That makes sense. It's not your fault. I was drunk and I made a bad choice" I said.

"She looked at me sincerely for a second and quietly asked, "Did you sleep with him, Stacey?"

I shook my head in disappointment and answered, "I really don't remember but I am assuming so, yes."

"God, I hope you used protection," she said.

"I hope so too. Hey, listen, we got a lot of stuff to do today, and my mom's coming in two days. I really don't want to discuss this any further so let's just pretend this never happened, ok? Honestly, this is the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life. I'm not that type of person," I said.

"I know you aren't..but of course. I won't say another word," she answered.

I had been in Las Vegas for 3 days by now and I spent the entire weekend unable to forget about what I did. It was Sunday night and I was feeling tremendous guilt issues. I have no idea why because I didn't even know this guy but I still felt bad. If he was such a bad guy, why would he want to take me on a date after a potential one night stand, right? I decided to bring it up to Claudia.

"Are you serious?!" she exclaimed.

I replied, "I don't know. I mean, it's just dinner and I'm sick of being broke and it might be fun to go out and eat a decent meal for once."

She glared at me slightly before saying, "Oh, Stacey. Don't be like that. You are NOT that type of person."

"I know, I know. I'm not the type to use a guy..but I don't think I'm doing that. Yes, a nice dinner and night out is a plus but I do feel guilty and I don't even know if I actually did anything with him. I'd like to get a few questions answered. Maybe he remembers better than I do?"

"Ok, I get that, Stace," she said. "I'm just worried. You don't know him."

Referring to Claudia's boyfriend, I asked, "Well, how well did you know Frankie before you went on a date with him? Not very."

She replied, "Alright, I get your point but - "

I interrupted her and asked, "is it really much different than a blind date?"

"I suppose not," Claudia answered.

I knew I had won the argument.

A few hours later, my fingers were shaking as I dialed the number on the piece of paper.

"Hello?" answered a male voice.

I could barely get the words out as I mumbled, "Um, hi Ben? It's, um..Stacey. From Friday? The, um..the Flamingo?"

"Yes, of course," he said. "I was hoping you'd call."


	7. Chapter 7

Ben agreed to stay an extra day so he could take me to dinner on Monday. I didn't dress as nice as I normally do for dates, nor did I put on as much makeup or style my hair. I decided to do that because I didn't really consider this a date but more of a "meeting." I wanted to apologize, of course but also to find out what really happened.

I was a little surprised when I saw him. He was dressed much nicer than I was. Hopefully he would get the hint that I wasn't taking this as seriously as he was.  
We went to a nice steak restaurant called CUT and he told me I could get whatever I wanted. I gotta admit, I almost started drooling as I looked at the menu and decided on filet mignon. I always giggle when I think of filet mignon because it reminds me of my old friend from Connecticut named Kristy Thomas. In 8th grade, I brought her and all of my friends to my hometown of New York City and when we went to a restaurant, she pronounced it "fill it mig non." Oh, Kristy.

We mutually decided that there would be NO drinking on our date whatsoever and then we began talking.

He asked, "So did you grow up in California?"

I answered, "Actually, no. I'm originally from Manhattan. I also lived in Connecticut from age 12-18."

"Wow. Really? What brought you out here?" he asked.

"I came out for school. I don't know if you remember from Friday but I mentioned that I go to UCLA. I'm in grad school," I replied.

He shook his head and muttered, "I'm sorry. It's still a bit of a blur."

Since it was a blur for me too, I changed the subject to start asking him questions.

I asked, "So..how about you, where are you from?"

"I'm from California," he said. "I grew up in the valley. I still live there. Not sure if you're familiar."

I laughed and said, "Of course I am! I've been in California for 6 years. In fact, my new apartment is in the valley. Sherman Oaks."

He laughed and said, "Oh, how funny. I live in Studio City."

THEN, I laughed, since the two cities are right next to each other. He kept talking..

"Well, I went to CSUN, in Northridge. It's no UCLA but.."

I shook my head and said to him, "No, I dont judge people like that. There's nothing wrong with a Cal State School."

He said, "I graduated 2 years ago."

I asked, "what did you major in?"

He answered, "Business Admin. I played it safe. Now I work in real estate. I'm an account manager but I'm trying to work my way up. It pays pretty well but my goal is to become a real estate agent. I'm actually studying for the test right now."

I was kind of impressed. It seemed like the guy had his stuff together. I said, "that's great."

I had to admit that I was having a nice time. We were just having a normal conversation. It pretty much was like a blind date. A blind date that was working out very well. He wasn't really my type though. Physically anyway. He was taller than me but had a stocky build. He didn't look like he worked out much and had dark curly hair. He wasn't what I would call "handsome" but not what I would consider bad looking either. Just an average nondescript guy but he was NICE. He seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. We had a nice dinner, nice conversation and spent 3 hours together at the restaurant before we decided to call it a night. He didn't bring up anything that happened between us on Friday so I decided not to either. He walked me back to my car, which was parked in the parking structure of MGM. He looked at me for a second before giving me an amorous hug. I hugged him back. I really was appreciative of his efforts.

He looked at me and asked, "So I guess the big question here is..would you like to see me again after you get back to L.A? I'd like to see you."

I had to be truthful with him so I thought for a minute before I told him:

"Yes. I think that would be great."


	8. Chapter 8

Oh, man. The rest of June in Vegas was BRUTAL. Every day I woke up sweating and my cheeks became red, dry and flaky from the dry desert heat. My mom's house really was great but I don't know why she decided to move NOW, of all times of the year. However, we really did have a great few weeks together. Claudia and I helped my mom choose a cute new car and we all picked out a really nice tan L-shaped couch that went great with everything in her new house. I also had many conversations with my mom over the next few weeks and it was nice to reconnect with her but by early July, Claudia and I were eager to get back to California and into our new place.

We decided on a simple and neutral decor for our shared living and dining area and our rooms were all ours to personalize. It took a few weeks but eventually, it began to feel like home.

Before long, August came and went too and I was back in school again and I also got a part time job at a coffee shop near campus. I had talked to Ben briefly on the phone while I was still in Nevada and then again once since I had been back in L.A. and after mulling over it for a while, I agreed to another date but I didn't tell Claudia because I knew she'd have a problem with it. Unfortunately, between work and my school schedule, I wasn't even able to see him until October but by the time that rolled around, I had to admit that I was kinda looking forward to another date and a chance to get out and have fun.


	9. Chapter 9

"It's so nice to see you again. Wow, you look great," said Ben as he stood in my doorway.

"Aww, thank you," I said back.

He was taking me to an Italian restaurant that I had never heard of but I assumed it would be good. He walked me to his car. It was dark so I couldn't tell what kind of car it was but as soon as I got in and the lights came on, I saw that it was a Lexus. Definitely not a brand new one but it was very nice.

So, he had a nice car, he was able to take me to nice dinners and he lived by himself so I could only assume that he made a decent living. I wondered if his apartment was nice too but I had no intention on visiting his place any time soon.

We had a nice dinner though and again, no drinks and just nice pleasant conversation while we got to know each other a bit better. As I got to know him, I thought that he had the potential to be a boyfriend but obviously that was something to consider WAY way down the line.

He ordered a chocolate brownie for dessert topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream covered in hot fudge. I figured a little bit wouldn't hurt so I agreed to split it with him but it ended up being SO rich that I knew I could only have a bite or two.

He asked, "you don't want any more?"

"No, that's ok," I answered.

"I like girls who eat so please, go ahead," he insisted.

Ugh..here we go. I HATE doing this. It's always so awkward to tell someone your diabetic because you never know how they'll react. I had already "known" him for a few months by this time, now had two dates, talked on the phone but I had never mentioned it. He obviously didn't seem to notice my pump either. Most people don't care but there have been a few times where it freaked a few guys out and and they never called me back. It sucks but obviously now I had to tell him.

"Are you really?" he asked.

"Yeah. Sorry I never mentioned it," I replied.

He shook his head and said, "that's ok, don't worry about it. How long have you had it?"

"About 11 years now."

Ben said, "Well, I don't know much about diabetes but I'm willing to listen if you want to talk about it. I know it's not life threatening right?"

"No, not if you take care of yourself," I said.

I explained a little more about it, about how my pump works and then our conversation quickly moved elsewhere. It was a relief that it wasn't a big deal to him and honestly, it made me like him even more. He told me a little about his family and it seemed he had a normal childhood. I talked about my childhood and my parents a bit too and he thought it was cool that I grew up in Manhattan.

When he dropped me off back at home, I agreed to let him walk me to my door and he really did seem like a gentleman. I decided I really did like him. Before saying goodbye, he came a little closer to me and asked, "Can I..?"

I just nodded and let him softly kiss me on the lips.

Knowing Claudia was with her boyfriend that night and not wanting the evening to end, I invited him in instead and asked if he wanted something to drink.

"Sure, what do you have?" he asked.

"I looked in my fridge and paused briefly before revealing the embarrassing contents.

"Um..Diet Coke..water..milk." I had some apple juice in there too but I had to save that in case I get a low blood sugar. "Sorry, Ben. Claudia and I aren't big drinkers."

He laughed and said, "It's ok. I don't need a drink. Water with ice is fine."

I brought him a glass and walked him around my small apartment, showing him some pictures and let him take a peek in Claudia's room, which was filled with bright colors, her paintings and knicknacks. He thought she was really talented.

"I'd like to meet her. Maybe?" he asked.

"Sure," I said.

He came to my place and now he wanted to meet my best friend.

Lastly, I decided to show Ben my bedroom. Maybe we couldn't remember the first time, but I knew we'd remember the second time..


	10. Chapter 10

December.

I was getting crazy sick of school. This last year wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be but I was still just so exhausted. Luckily, winter break was coming up and I was looking forward to a trip to New York to visit my dad and stepmom. Ben had taken me to a concert and I took him on MY version of a date: a tour of the UCLA campus. I also took him to the coffee shop and introduced him my coworkers. Still, he wasn't officially my "boyfriend" and we were dating very casually and sporadically but I was looking forward to telling my Dad all about him. I already told my mom, leaving out the Vegas incident of course.

I took the red eye, fell asleep immediately and I couldn't believe it when I was jarred awake. It was daytime. I looked at my watch and it was 4am California time. No wonder I was out of it. Obviously we'd be landing soon so I went to use the tiny airplane bathroom and splash some water on my face but the smell inside immediately made me dry heave into the toilet. Jeez, I don't remember airplane bathrooms being THIS gross but I hurried up and got out of there. I guess I was gonna hold it until I got to the airport so I can use the bathroom there instead.

Samantha picked me up and I hung out with her at my dad's place until he came home. He was so happy to see me as he walked in the door. "Boontsie!" he cried.

"Hey Dad! I missed you so much!"

I hadn't seen my Dad in almost 2 years. He was busy with work, I was with school. I suppose we both could have made a better effort but hey, I was here now and that's all that mattered. He aged a lot in the last 2 years too and I assumed it was due to his workload but I'm sure, like Mom, he'll be retiring soon as well.

"So, what are the plans for the week?" I asked.

He folded his arms and looked off to the side, like he was in deep thought before saying, "We'll do something..New York. I don't want you to forget where you came from."

I laughed and said, "Oh Dad, I'd never forget where I came from."

He raised his eyebrows and said, "Hmm..that California glow tells me otherwise."

I gotta admit that I really had grown to love the sun.

The next morning, my dad had to work, of course but since it was Friday, he was planning something special for me that night.

Samantha made a great spread for me too. Bacon, eggs, french toast and fresh fruit.

"Um is anyone else coming over?" I asked.

"Ha! No, I just wanted to give you options. Well eat the rest of this over the next few days," she replied.

I decided on a small portion of eggs, a piece of French toast and 2 pieces of bacon as I sat down with my stepmom. We chatted a little about what we should do that morning and just settled on walking around Central Park for a bit and we'd figure it out from there. I was getting ready in the bathroom when she knocked on the door. "Come in!" I said.

Samantha said, "Hey hon, I just wanted to ask. Do you want to go to Bloomingdale's?"

Oh my gosh, I LOVE Bloomingdale's but my budget would not allow that so I told her, "Oh, Sam I dont have any money to do that."

She waved her hand at me and said, "Oh no. It's my treat. I haven't seen you in so long."

I couldn't say no to that so I accepted the offer and immediately, I felt this weird feeling in my stomach and then suddenly I turned and threw up in the sink. It came out of nowhere. I covered my mouth with my hands and just stared at Samantha who had her mouth open in shock. Obviously she didn't expect me to do that either and I was so embarrassed. I stammered, "I'm so sorry. I'll..I'll clean it up."

"It's ok, it's ok," she said and then she ran to the kitchen and brought back a trash bag and roll of paper towels.

Anyone who knows me knows that I hate puking and now I was going to have to clean up a whole bunch of it. She was looking away but asked, "Are you ok?"

"I don't know.." I trailed off.

"Have you been sick?"

I shook my head and said "No, not that I know of."

She asked, "Wanna check your blood sugar or something?"

I replied, "Yeah, I can do that" but after cleaning the sink, throwing the bag away, brushing my teeth and washing my hands, I felt fine. I checked my blood sugar anyway and that was ok too. How weird.

Thankfully, I was able to spend the rest of the day with Samantha and had no more problems. It was freezing but we strolled through Central Park, i got a beautiful new silver bracelet from Bloomingdale's, we took two taxi rides AND a quick ride in the smelly NYC subway. It felt good to be home.


	11. Chapter 11

While we were out at dinner that night, I told my dad about Ben.

He said, "Well, I'm happy for you. Just don't get caught up in a relationship when you need your focus to be on school."

"Don't worry," I said. "I've only been on a few dates with the guy. It's not exclusive, but it's possible."

He kind of rolled his eyes a bit and said, "Oookay.."

I woke up in the middle of the night and got sick again. Oh my gosh, what's wrong with me? I remember feeling sick like this when I became diabetic. After I flushed, I checked my blood sugar. 130. A tad high but not high enough to make me THIS sick. The next morning I was in NO mood for breakfast but I went to the kitchen anyway just to say hi to Samantha. I asked her if she had any cereal and she poured me a bowl but I stopped her immediately when she tried to pour milk in it.

"No thanks," I said.

I stared at my bowl and moved my spoon around but never actually took a bite. I couldn't.

Samantha took a deep breath and said, "I heard you last night."

Oh great. My dad still worries about my health so I asked, "Did Dad?"

"No, he didn't," she said before adding, "but you do look a little green, Stace. What's going on?"

I shook my head and said, "I don't know, Sam. Maybe I'm coming down with something. Is there a stomach virus going around here?"

"No."

An awkward silence was broken by her saying, "You're reminding me of my sister. When she-"

I interrupted, "Your sister? What are you talking about?"

"How long have you been seeing this Ben guy?" she asked.

"Huh? On and off since June I guess..but what does that have to do-"

Then she interrupted me with, "do you think you might be pregnant?"

"WHAT?" I exclaimed. "Pregnant? No. God no! I mean, he's not even my boyfriend."

She said, "um, that doesn't matter. Have you..ever?"

Embarrassed to even say this in front of her, I looked down and said ,"well..yeah. We have."

"Did you use anything?" she asked sternly.

Shoot. We didn't. I know, it was a bit foolish but it was only that one time. Obviously the incident from Vegas too but clearly, I didn't get pregnant from that encounter. It was months ago.

She took a deep breath and said, "Look, I just remember when my sister got pregnant. She looked like you."

There was no way. I mean timing wise, right? Or was it? Oh my gosh, I don't know.

I responded, "Sam, I have to pay attention to myself constantly and I know my body so well. If anything was different, I'd know."

Sam said, "but aren't things different right now, Stace? Have you been sick any other time?"

Damn. I looked down again before admitting, "Yes. On the plane."

She put her face in her hands and muttered, "Oh, Stacey."

I quickly said, "Sam, it's probably nothing. Ok? I'd been really stressed at school. I don't always eat healthy these days. I mean, it's probably nothing."

"Yeah, you already said that," she said, with her arms now folded across her chest. She continued.

"Well, why don't you go clean yourself up, we'll grab some coffee, stop at the drugstore and buy the test before your dad wakes up. Let's just get it over with, ok? Your dad wants to do something nice for you today so we'll spend the day with him and then we'll deal with this later."

After a wonderful day with my Dad, I couldn't believe that hours later at 11 at night, I was holding a pee stick in my hand, sitting at the kitchen table begging my stepmom not to say anything to my dad.

"I won't," she said. "For now."

I couldn't sleep at all that night. All I did was toss and turn in bed that night, terrified.

I was pregnant. A 23 year old graduate student who had done everything right, my grades were good, I had a fantastic apartment with my best friend, was having a great time with a new guy and now I was going to ruin his life AND mine. All because Boy-Crazy Stacey just couldn't help herself, as usual. I wanted to call Claudia so bad but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I decided to wait until I got back to California to tell her in person.

As my plane landed, I was filled with emotions, sad to be leaving New York, heartbroken at my Dad's reaction to the news, terrified to tell Ben and my mom and I just had no idea what to do. I just needed Claudia.


	12. Chapter 12

'Are..you..KIDDING me?!" shouted an angry Claudia.

"I wish I was," I muttered.

"My God, Stacey. How can you let this happen? First, you used terrible judgement in Vegas and now..now you did it again! This is NOT YOU," she scolded.

I sighed and said "I know, I know. I got too caught up in this. I haven't had a boyfriend in forever and he took me places, he's sweet to me. I mean, it HAS been six months since we met."

"but you still barely know him! You've been on what, like 3 dates? Come on."

"I know," I responded. "Please, just tell me you'll support me. I need you."

She calmed herself down for a second before saying, "Of course. I'm not trying to be mean to you, I'm really not but I'm your best friend and I'm going to tell you the truth. I'll support any decision you make, but you need to make the RIGHT decision Stace. You've worked so hard and you can't throw it away."

Obviously she was steering me in one direction and her thoughts and concerns were valid, of course. She was obviously very upset with me but I really couldn't blame her. I know I messed up. THEN I had to break the news to my mom. The conversation went about the same as it did with my dad, and her disappointment in me broke my heart for a second time. Especially after I confessed about my foolishness in Vegas too. So Claudia, my mom and dad knew and of course, they all told me what they thought I should do and that was to not go through with this. It was obviously the best choice and the smartest choice. I'd have plenty of time to have a baby, once I was older..and married. I guess now I just had one person left to tell.

"Are you being serious?" asked Ben with a horrified look on his face.

"I'm so sorry," I replied.

He just sat back on my couch and crossed his arms, unable to speak so I kept talking.

"We just..we messed up and.." I didn't know what else to say.

He asked, "and you haven't been seeing anyone else? I know we aren't exclusive so if you are.."

"I'm not. Just you, I swear." I said.

He shook his head in disbelief before saying, "Honestly, I saw you as having the potential to be my girlfriend. I think you're wife material too Stace, I really do. I do want to have kids, maybe even with..you.? Someday. Just not now. Plus, you have your whole life ahead of you too. Don't throw away everything you have worked for."

I nodded.

"So..are we in agreement here? Let's just take care of this and move on. I still want to see you," he said.

So nobody wanted this baby born. Nobody..except me.

"I can't do it, Ben!" I blurted out. "I'm sorry."

"Can't do what?" he asked.

"I'm keeping it."

All he did was look down.

"I'm graduating this year, and I'll be done with school by the time the baby comes, maybe I can go live with my mom? Maybe she could help me? Or live with..you even?

He just stared at me and shrugged so I continued talking.

"Or not. I mean, you can be involved or not. It's up to you. I really won't be upset. I understand where you are coming from too. I'll have my masters and I don't think I'll have a problem finding work. I think I can do it, but it would be nice if I don't have to do it alone. You dont have to be my boyfriend, Ben. But I'd like you around," I said.

"Okay," was about all he can muster.

"Will you come to the doctor with me?" I asked.

He nodded and said quietly, "Yeah, I can do that," but the look on his face said just the opposite. He didn't want ANY of this and I felt awful.


	13. Chapter 13

All I could see was a little bean shaped blob and really, I had no clue what I was even looking at. Ben was squinting at it too, trying to figure out what it was.

The doctor pointed at the screen and said, "here's the head and here's the bottom. Those little dots on the side are the arm buds and they'll be growing every day. You're right where you should be for 8 weeks, guys. Your baby looks perfect.

Baby. My BABY. Oh my gosh, I couldn't believe that I had an actual life inside of me and I was going to be a mom.

As we walked out to the car, I asked Ben, "How are you holding up?"

He replied, "I'm in shock right now."

"Me too," I said.

He gave me a small smile though and said, "but that was kind of exciting too."

I smiled back before saying, "I'm sorry I did this to you. I wasn't planning on ruining your life."

He shook his head no before saying, "you aren't ruining my life. It's just.."

I asked, "but do you even want this?"

"No. No I don't," he said.

I remained silent but then he added, "but it is what it is and it's your choice. I guess I'm just going to have to try and make this work. Stay at your place for a bit, maybe and let me look for a new place? It won't be as nice, but.."

"You want me to move in with you?!" I cried.

"Well, yeah eventually."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He gave me a hug, kissed me on the lips, pulled back and then said, "Well, guess I should ask..will you be my girlfriend? Officially?"

Jeez, I never thought I'd have someone ask me to be their girlfriend after I was pregnant with their baby but I answered, "Yes. Of course."

He hugged me again and whispered to me, "We'll figure this out, ok?"

I started crying and said back, "Ok."

We didn't talk much on the way back to my place. I mean, what else was there to say? I just put my head back and stared out of the window.

So, I guess I'm going to have a baby. Yes, with someone I barely know and someone who I met under really inappropriate conditions, but he's trying and I'm trying. I don't love him, though. Not at all but we do have 7 more months to get to know each other better. Maybe that will change.

I never thought I'd get myself into a situation like this but here I am. I know I'm a smart girl and I feel lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life. I know my parents will come around and I'll always have Claudia. I really don't know what will happen with Ben but I just hope it all works out. Now I just need to be strong. Just like I always am..

..and just like I always will be.

THE END


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks for reading. I was hesitant to write a story about Stacey using bad judgement but even the smartest people make bad decisions sometimes and Stacey isn't immune to that either. Plus, it was nice to create a back story to Stacey's adult life, the start of her relationship that ultimately failed and her daughter referenced in the BSC 10 year reunion.

More prequels? Or new stories about the adult BSC after the reunion? Let me know. Thanks!


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